1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to blankets and, more particularly, to a ventilated blanket allowing the passage of air through the blanket.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of a blanket provides warmth and comfort to a sleeping person. Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/923,700 (""700) describes a blanket for use on a baby to prevent the baby from removing the blanket from the baby""s body. Although ""700 discloses an effective way of preventing a baby from removing a blanket, ""700 does not disclose a blanket which provides increased ventilation to a baby.
When a person covers a main portion of his body with a blanket, air is trapped underneath the blanket. This trapped air becomes stale and oftentimes, uncomfortably warm. In addition, it is well known that a person""s skin must be constantly exposed to fresh air for maintaining healthy skin. Thus, positioning a blanket over a person, or a baby, is both uncomfortable and unhealthy. The baby instinctively attempts to remove the blanket. On the other hand, an adult has learned to endure the uncomfortable feeling of exposing a majority of the person""s body to stale and unhealthy air. A blanket is needed which provides enhanced ventilation, while still allowing the person to properly cover his body.
In addition, the baby blanket disclosed in ""700 discloses a mechanism for allowing the baby to lift the blanket, yet prevents the baby from removing the blanket from his body. To enhance the effectiveness of the disclosed blanket, air passageways may be utilized to functionally prevent the baby from removing the blanket. Thus, it would be a distinct advantage to have a blanket which prevents a person from removing the blanket from his body while sleeping. Additionally, it would be advantageous to have a blanket which provides enhanced ventilation to a person utilizing the blanket. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus.
In one aspect, the present invention is a blanket for use over a person. The blanket includes a sheet of material and a reinforcing section affixed to the sheet of material. The reinforcing section provides a substantial rigidity to a portion of the blanket. The blanket also includes a vertically raised section located on the sheet of material for raising a portion of the sheet of material away from a horizontal surface on which the sheet of material lies. The vertically raised section is extendable from the sheet of material. The blanket also includes a plurality of apertures spaced on the sheet of material for allowing passage of air through the sheet of material. The person is positioned under the blanket. The reinforcing section and the vertically raised section prevents the person from moving the blanket off the person""s body while allowing restricted movement of the blanket. The apertures ventilate an underside of the blanket.
In another aspect, the present invention is a blanket for use over a person. The blanket includes a sheet of material and a plurality of apertures spaced on the sheet of material. Each aperture provides a passageway through the sheet of material. The blanket simultaneously provides cover to the person while allowing air to flow through the blanket for ventilation on an underside of the blanket.